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House Greycastle
House Greycastle is one of the noble and founding families of the kingdom of Beldin. Its members are all lycanthropes, though they follow Selune rather than Malar. Current Members Lord Lander Greycastle Lady Cecily Greycastle Wulf Greycastle Niamh Fearthegn-Greycastle (Wulf's wife) Spring Greycastle Niel Greycastle Vashti Nightshade-Greycastle (Niel's wife) Brinja Greycastle-Fearthegn Murtagh Fearthegn (Brinja's Husband) Chita Greycastle-Greenwood Leland Greenwood (Chita's Husband) Mist Greycastle Alliances and Enemies The Greycastles traditionally looked after themselves, since they've always been rather odd. Recently, they have allied themselves to the Fearthegns and the Greenwoods. They have always been loyal to the Aelfhiems as the ruling family, even if they are not the sort to volunteer themselves as champions. Wulf Greycastle, Lord Greycastle's eldest son, is currently head of the Bounders. During the Tyranny of Malark , Wulf did not officially resign his post, but made sure the Bounders never made themselves particularly useful to Malark. Niel Greycastle, Wulf's younger brother, was apprenticed to Elandania Jadys'Varine . He married Vashti Nightshade despite parental disapproval in 1391. The Greycastles are also friends with the Eininfars , since favors have been done on both sides and they used to be neighbors. The Nightshades are the sworn enemies of the Greycastles, and the Greycastles as a whole do not see any reason to change their opinion of them (despite Niel's recent marriage). The Greycastles are likewise at odds with the Malarites of the Wildwood, who have worked in the past with the Nightshades to frame the Greycastles in various crimes. History Unlike many of the other noble houses of Beldin, the Greycastles are descended from Niel Greycastle, the pilot of the Starspray, not one of the ship captains. He is credited with finding the way through the fog bank, leading the other ten ships to safety. He was always credited with being especially lucky, and his navigating skills were amongst the best on the Sword Coast. Always well liked, he nevertheless had few friends, and little is known about his history or that of his family before coming to the Karen Valley. Niel’s captain was killed during the first of the orc raids on the settlement at the mouth of the Karen. His crew elected him the new captain. Soon after the founding of the city, he married an Uthgardt woman named Westra, and settled down a little to the north on his own farm. Though more or less out on his own, he was not bothered unduly by the creatures of the valley since he was said to be a baresark. The feud between the Greycastles and Nightshades dates back to the marriage of Haralda Greycastle and Wilhem Nightshade. Haralda was the eldest daughter of Ander Greycastle, and Wilhem was the second son of Raymond Nightshade. Though the two families were not especially fond of each other—there having been a question of lands in the previous generation, and a few insults which were never taken back—it was hoped that this would help smooth over any little disputes that may have occurred in the past. The wedding took place on Midsummer Night’s Eve, 1055, and everyone was quite certain that the pair were off to a happy start. But three days later, Haralda turned up back home barefoot with her clothing in rags, saying that she had been all but driven out of the Nightshade house. Wilhem claimed that she was a monster, and if he had known her true nature before the wedding, he never would have had anything to do with her. He then proceeded to elope with the youngest princess—Rowena Aelfhiem. Needless to say, the Greycastles were incensed. Lord Ander insisted that Lord Nightshade do something about his son. Raymond Nightshade refused, and said that it seemed that Haralda was at fault. Lady Rowan Nightshade added that, after all, Haralda had walked out of the house on her own feet (how many feet she had at the time was apparently in doubt, however). She also added something about her poor boy being taken in by an evil sorceress, and how he could hardly be blamed for fleeing into the arms of little Rowena, who was a decent Chondathan girl and no berserkUthgart’s daughter. The Nightshades had also apparently misplaced her dowry, and couldn’t give it back. So the Greycastles were left with no choice but to declare war on the Nightshades, and the west side of the Karen Valley became a battleground for the next few years as each side launched raids on the other’s holdings. In the end, Wilhem, his brother Naylor, and Haralda’s uncle, Lief Greycastle, were killed in the fighting. After Wilhem’s death, an uneasy peace was made between the two families, but hatred persisted. The Nightshades never forgot that the Greycastles had killed two of their sons, and the Greycastles would always remember how the Nightshades had treated poor Haralda. Nevertheless, though the Greycastles were thought to be the better people—perhaps—the Nightshades did not turn into odd creatures in the middle of night, and so the Greycastles were forced to look for spouses among the Uthgardt to the north. The Greycastles were hard hit by the plague of 1150, loosing Lord Greycastle and his son, Eric. Eric’s son, Bjorn, was raised by his aunt Brook, but he was lost at sea at the age of twenty-one. The family lands were inherited by a second cousin, Haldan. Haldan’s grandson, Mere, was one of the head Bounder scouts in the First Winter War. Both he and his son, Lief, gave their lives in defense of Beldin. The Greycastles did not play such an important role in the Second Winter War, but Lord Niel, the father of the current Lord Greycastle, lost his life in the defense of Beldin in the Battle of the Blizzard. Niel had two siblings: a borther, Wulf, who ran away adventuring, and Mirelle, who married Darvin Lester. Wulf was never seen again after he left Beldin, having met with a tragic accident after having been married and settling down in Cormyr. His wife and little daughter, Cefrey, found their way back to Beldin after his death, and were taken in by the family. Cefrey eventually married her cousin, Lander. Niel had two children, Lander and Mist. Mist was lost at the age of seven, on Midsummer Night’s Eve when she wandered off into the woods near her home. Caught by the Malarites on the High Hunt, she was thought too young to be good sport, and so was sold to the Aurilites. She was raised on Astrid, and became one of the best of the Aurilite spies—the infamous White Wolf. Sometime after the beginning of the second siege of Astrid, she was captured by Ronin Eininfar . She was put in the custody of her family, after revealing the names of all the Aurilite spies in Beldin. Lander became Lord Greycastle after his father’s death in 1376 in the Battle of the Blizzard. He and Cefrey have four children: Wulf, Niel, Brinya, and Chita. Chita is known in Beldin as an exceptionally unlucky child, who was bitten by a nasty rat while playing near the Beldin sewers at the age of six, and has not been quite the same ever since. Category:Noble Families Category:Factions